My children are growing up right before my eyes, and I’ve watched them slowly go from playing with Barbie dolls and stuffed animals to their phones and tablets. Being an overly nostalgic person, I didn’t need to be reminded of this painful passing of time (especially after seeing the new trailer for Toy Story 5), but it did get me thinking about a popular meme that was posted on social media a few years ago, seen in the above pic. In case you can’t see the pic for some reason (or you’re just averse to lifting your gaze), it’s a photo of the young cast from the brilliant Rob Reiner film Stand By Me with the words, “At some point in your childhood, you and your friends went outside to play together for the last time and nobody knew it.” It’s true that I don’t remember the exact final day I played with my two best friends outside when we were growing up, so the title of this blog is a bit of a misnomer, but I do remember my last attempt at playing outside.
It was early 1992 and we were all 14, so we were already past the time to stop playing outside with toys. Even though we were all the same age, there were subtle differences. My younger friend had just turned 14, so, in my mind at least, he was just barely past being a kid. I was in the middle of being 14, and my older friend was about to turn 15. This fact is very important to the rest of the story.
Even though it had been 3 years, we were still crazy about the 1989 movie Batman. After seeing it together that summer, we roleplayed nonstop. Through our young eyes, my older friend’s backyard became Gotham City, and the little patch of woods in the corner became the Batcave.
But a lot can happen in 3 years. Kids grow up and move on. But we didn’t. At least, I thought we didn’t. Little did we know that the long-awaited sequel, Batman Returns, was coming that summer in 1992, but this was years before the Internet spoiled any surprises in cinema where you know a sequel is coming the minute after the opening weekend of any blockbuster (and sometimes even before then). My younger friend had a younger brother who had just gotten this neat Batman toy gun that shot foam darts, as well as other objects like mini “batarangs.” I couldn’t find an exact pic of the toy online for reference, but this was the best I could do:
The two of us thought this would be a great prop to use in our continuing adventures of playing Batman. I was usually The Joker (even back then, I was more of a Joker fan), with my two friends trading off on who got to play Batman. The other was relegated to playing Bob, the Joker’s goon, or Robin, though Robin wasn’t in the 1989 movie. I remember the excitement we had on the drive to our older friend’s house while poring over the intricate details of the plastic gun. “This thing is so cool!” “I can’t wait to shoot it!” “I already have a great idea of how to use it in a story!” And on and on.
We arrived at the house of our older friend, who had just moved there a few years beforehand. In retrospect, moving away from his childhood home may have contributed to his momentous decision that day. Gun in hand, we hustled upstairs like the little kids we used to be, only months before, to find our friend in his room playing Super Nintendo. We showed him the toy with a big announcement that the two of us decided to play Batman with him that day, and he briefly acknowledged it with a head nod and half a smile. My younger friend and I were already deflated. It was clear he wasn’t a fraction as enthusiastic about playing Batman outside again as we were—even with the added prop. I tried reasoning with him: “No, you don’t get it. It doesn’t just shoot foam darts. It shoots little batarangs and other things!”
My older friend—still playing SNES, his eyes trained on the screen—replied, “Yep, I got it.” When it was clear his response wasn’t good enough, he added, almost out of pity, “Uh, maybe later, guys. I’m busy playing this game now.”
I turned to my younger friend with a, “What now?” look. We were so desperate, we even tried enlisting my older friend’s sister, who was a year younger than us, to “come out and play,” as The Offspring used to sing. She scoffed, “Pfft, I don’t wanna play Batman!” as if it was something babies did.
The initial disappointment and frustration my younger friend and I shared quickly turned to embarrassment. Shame, even. As I watched my older friend pummeling pixelated enemies on his T.V. (I think he was playing Streetfighter II), I thought to myself, “Maybe we are too old to still be playing with toys.” Of course, the irony being that the Super Nintendo was itself a toy. Granted, it was a very sophisticated, expensive toy, but it was a toy nonetheless.
So what could I do? Simple. I grabbed a controller and waited for my turn to play. And play SNES I did, for the next several years until graduating high school. But playing outside with my two best pals? Running around carefree pretending to zap each other with laser guns as we evaded the evil alien army? Those days were done.
Forever.
***
In other MTP news: I’ve been basically hibernating for the past 3 months, but March is going to be a very busy month for me. I have the following book signings lined up:
Saturday, March 14: Pine Grove Inn, East Patchogue, NY, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Wednesday, March 25: Fire Island Vines, Bay Shore, NY, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 28: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, Lake Ronkonkoma, NY, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Spring Art Fair
You can also see these dates on this site’s homepage, but I just spared you an extra click. You’re welcome!
MTP
P.S.: Next blog: It’s My Anniversary Again!
P.P.S.: The Danger Peak audiobook is now available!
P.P.P.S.: The new edition of The Electric God and Other Shorts is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:
Michael Thomas Perone 